Welcome to issue #192 of Forkliftaction.com's newsletter! We have an interesting line-up of stories for you this week. Be sure to read this month's feature focusing on manual materials handling equipment by Damien Tomlinson. This two-part feature will be Damien's last article for Forkliftaction.com

In this issue, we have included a riveting tale of how JCB employee Richard Galley and his wife Kristin Meredith survived the tsunami horror while on holiday in Phuket. Galley, who has worked for JCB for 13 years, said: “We realise how lucky we are, especially as we continued to watch the events unfold on the news.”

Our thoughts remain with those who lost loved ones in the tragedy.

Forkliftaction.com would also like to apologise for an error in last week's newsletter. Rodger Lamb reported that all major US manufacturers were present at ProMat 2005. This was not the case as we were later informed that US manufacturer Crown was not represented.

Equipment manufacturing powerhouse Terex Corporation plans to restate its 2001-2003 financial statements following an examination of intercompany transactions and apparent account imbalances, the Westport-based firm said in a January 13 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Financial statements for the three years “should no longer be relied upon”, Terex said in a statement.

An internal examination began on October 28 and determined that a material weakness existed in the firm’s controls over financial reporting.

Terex bolstered its business in aerial work platforms significantly with the September 2002 acquisition of Genie Holdings Inc, of Redmond, Washington.

While the numbers are subject to adjustment, Terex’s 2003 report said the business segment for aerial work platforms accounted for 14 percent of that year’s sales of USD3.9 billion.

The segment designs, manufactures and markets boom lifts, scissor lifts and telehandlers through facilities in Redmond and Moses Lake, Washington, and Baraga, Michigan.

A JCB employee and his wife survived the Asian tsunami in Thailand by clinging to palm trees after the force of the tidal wave catapulted them through their Phuket bungalow window.

JCB parts and service manager Richard Galley, 35, and Kristin Meredith, 32, recounted the horror that began when the door of their holiday home was flung open by the powerful tidal surge which was rising at half a metre a second.

Within seconds the couple was completely under water and Galley swam beneath the surface to try to open a back door.

“Fortunately the force of the water collapsed the wall separating the bedroom and bathroom and a large bathroom window burst out,” Galley said.

“We were then both shot outside by the force of the water where we managed to grab palm trees to wait for the current to subside.

“These were the most terrifying moments because I still didn’t know where Kristin was and I don’t have the words to express how I felt right then or what went through my mind when I saw her grab on to a palm tree a few yards in front of me.”

The couple clung to the palm trees for 10 minutes while waiting for the water to subside.

“If it hadn’t been for those palm trees, we would have been swept out to sea,” Galley said.

The Galleys’ troubles did not end there.

When they returned to their hotels, they discovered their suitcases opened and all their money, credit cards and mobile phones stolen.

“Fortunately they left our passports and plane tickets so we felt very lucky, not to mention the fact we were alive and together,” Galley said.

They returned to Shanghai, China, where Galley works for JCB, on December 27.

Galley, who has worked for JCB for 13 years, said: “We realise how lucky we are, especially as we continued to watch the events unfold on the news.”

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Kalmar is launching the E-One, the first all-electric rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) crane.

According to a company statement, the E-One is “suited to any operation around the world” and does not need hydraulics to work.

The RTG has a low-emission diesel engine and is fitted with an all-electric trolley, wheel turning and spreader.

The all-electric wheel turning now replaces the commonly used hydraulic turning and locking system for wheel positioning.

The all-electric Bromma spreader is a reeved-in design, different to the conventional RTG where the spreader is attached to the headblock.

Based on new intelligence in RTG movements, the RTG offers fuel savings of up to 30 per cent. Electric power is used only when needed while in conventional RTGs, the hydraulics run constantly.

Kalmar’s latest RTG orders include 10 16-wheel models for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, five 16-wheel units to Liscont, Portugal, four eight-wheel models each to Gdynia, in Poland, Kumport, in Turkey and Djibouti; one 16-wheel unit to Petrolesport, at the Port of St Petersburg; and six 16-wheel models to the Kenya Port Authority.

Company CASTEELS, established in France since 1964, unveils its brand new 2005 Automotive Equipment catalogue.
This full colour 150+ pages parts catalogue now combines Casteels’ five best-selling ranges: Electrical components, Lighting & warning, Wiping systems, CAB Products and Tooling; providing worldwide professionals of automotive, trucking, handling and agricultural branches with probably the best European Q/P ratio.

This new catalogue comes at the right time to reveal original new products now included in major OEM programs to the aftermarket professionals, and to show the extension of Casteels’ essential ranges of wiper motors and worklamps...

The response to ProMat 2005’s RFID Knowledge Centre was “very positive”, with 5,000 visitors attending, said Dr Richard Ward, executive vice president for professional development for the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA).

How RFID technology works, the opportunities RFID presents and how to plan for RFID implementation were among topics covered.

Ward said visitors directed their comments and queries at 30-odd RFID seminars held at the trade show, but enjoyed a multimedia presentation at the Knowledge Centre.

“Our purpose was to demonstrate how RFID works by way of a multimedia presentation and actual RFID personal tagging presentations,” Ward said.

“We also demonstrated RFID by creating a personalised RFID tag unique to each individual. So, when they left the Knowledge Centre, the computer was able to identify that tag and say thank you to each person,” he said.

The engineer said visitors’ knowledge of RFID varied from “very little to a fair amount”.

Toyota Deutschland GmbH in Germany has appointed Norio Wakabayashi as president. He succeeds Hiroyuki Toyobe who returns to Japan to work for Toyota Material Handling Company. Wakabayashi has 15 years of experience in Toyota’s industrial equipment business. For the past two years, he was director at the European headquarters in Brussels. He was involved in the set-up of the Toyota factory in Ancenis, France and participated in the success and growth of Toyota in Europe.

Michael Romano has become the majority shareholder and president of Associated Material Handling Industries, Inc. Romano was a principal partner and CEO of Abel-Womack Integrated Handling Solutions, Inc, based in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He succeeds Gordon Demaine who is retiring after nine years as president and COO.

Rental Service Corp has appointed Erik Olsson as chief operating officer. Olsson was chief financial officer for the company since January 2001. As COO, he will oversee the effort to fulfil the equipment rental needs of more than 200,000 customers in North America.

Dick Golden has retired from Scott Lift Truck Corp at age 78. Golden and his business partner Phil Malarski were among the first independent LPM dealers. They eventually sold their business to Atlas Lift Truck. After that, Golden joined Scott Lift Truck to continue marketing LPM parts.

A forklift has been used to remove an enormous buoy that washed up mysteriously near Cocoa Beach.

The Florida Today reported six men from Beyel Brothers and The Scales Company used a forklift, a crane and a flatbed truck to remove the buoy that had washed ashore near 24th Street, south of Cocoa Beach.

Aigner Index of New Windsor, New York, USA, has introduced the new AIGNER CHARGED●CARD, the easiest way ever to see if your batteries are charged or if they need re-charging.
If your warehouse or storage facility uses battery powered forklifts and vehicles, think of how much time you can save if you could instantly spot which batteries need re-charging and which ones are ready to go!
Well... now you can with the new AIGNER CHARGED●CARD.
It’s so simple to use, you’ll be surprised you didn’t think of it yourself. This handy, color-coded magnetic card adheres easily to any lift vehicle or battery pack.
Just...

There are many types of mountable cameras available on the market, but most of these are primarily designed for “domestic” applications such as campervans or caravans.

ORLACO Camera Systems are designed for arduous industrial applications and are therefore robust and provide long service life, and have been shown to provide up to 30-40% increase in pallet movements. The ORLACO Camera System can be used in many varied applications, such as on commercial vehicles, public transport vehicles, earthmoving and materials handling equipment.

Orlaco cameras are factory fitted, used and, in many cases, specified exclusively by European forklift OEMs and attachment manufacturers.

Nowadays, every inch...

You can find further information on Orlaco vision systems by hitting the website of their Australian distributor, Vogel. See www.vogel.net.au.

Yale Materials Handling Corporation, a leading lift truck manufacturer, unveiled a revolutionary line of lift trucks and new manufacturing process to the industry at ProMat 2005 in Chicago. The Yale Veracitor VX line of lift trucks, and equipment and facility used to manufacture the product line, offer customers increased productivity, customization for individual customer application needs, and improved ergonomics designed with the operator in mind.

“Yale was the first company to market with a lift truck back in 1923, and we have continued that tradition of innovation and excellence ever since. Today, we introduce the Veracitor VX, a line of lift...

For more information, or to find the Yale lift truck dealer nearest you, call 1-800-233-YALE or visit www.yale.com.